Shintech PVC Plant in Convent, LA, USA

March against the plant
- Source: Shintech in 1996 proposed a PVC plant in Convent, La. Community backlash, however, prompted the company to pull the plug on the project three years later. Photo: CorpWatch, San Francisco
http://www.siteselection.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf050131.htm

Description

In 1996, Shintech, a Japanese subsidiary of Shin Etsu, proposed to build a $700 million polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Convent, Louisiana. The plant would consist of three chemical factories and an incinerator. Convent is a dominantly African American community where more than 40% of its population falls below the poverty line. Convent is part of St. James Parish (counties in Louisiana are called parishes), located in the heart of what has become known as 'Cancer Alley'. Cancer Alley is the 85-mile stretch area along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans where over 140 petrochemical and other industrial plants are located.

This concentration has resulted in higher rates of cancer and other medical problems impacting local communities.

St. James Parish is considered by the Environmental Defense Fund to be one of America's 25 most polluted counties. It is home to over eight chemical plants, which emitted 17 million pounds of toxic emissions in 1995. The people of St. James Parish are already overburdened with toxic emissions. The Shintech PVC plant would emit an additional 600,000 pounds of toxic chemicals and 6.8 million gallons of wastewater into the Mississippi River each year. Chemical discharges into the water would include benzene, methyl chloride, carbon tetrachloride and ethylene dichloride. The Mississippi River is the source of water for many Louisiana cities including New Orleans.

On September 17, 1998, and after two years of intense community activism, Shintech announced that it would not build a PVC plant in Convent. Instead, Shintech plans to build a smaller, $250 million PVC plant in nearby Plaquemine. Shintech withdrew permit applications for St. James Parish when the Plaquemine site was approved.

Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..) Development of a network/collective action Involvement of national and international NGOs Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Sampling the water, travelling to Japan to talk to officials

Citizens from Convent used several strategies after Shintech's proposal. First, citizens attended public hearings to me sure their voices opposing this proposal where heard and considered. After that, this community organization filed complaints with the EPA under Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. A media campagin included bringing support from political and religious leaders, as well as celebrities.

More high-profile actions included collecting water samples from the river and presented them to the Department of Environmental Quality.

Emelda West, a local resident of 80 years of age, also made numerous trips to talk to officials about the dangers the PVC plant would produce. One of those trips was to Tokyo, Japan where she talked to Shin Etsu's president and CEO, Chihiro Kanagawa. She took with her a package of letters and petitions from 1,150 St. James Parish residents voicing their opposition to Shintech's plant.

Do you consider this as a success?

Yes

Why? Explain briefly.

On September 17, 1998, and after two years of intense community activism, Shintech announced that it would not build a PVC plant in Convent. Instead, Shintech plans to build a smaller, $250 million PVC plant in nearby Plaquemine. Shintech withdrew permit applications for St. James Parish when the Plaquemine site was approved. The plant in Plaquemine was cheaper because Shintech pumps in raw materials like chlorine and vinyl chloride from a nearby Dow Chemical plant, instead of producing the raw materials themselves. It's hard to define whether this is as a success for environmental justice principles.

Sources and Materials

Legislations

President Clinton's Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice

References

Collin, R. 'The Environmental Protection Agency' 2006

Cole, L. and Foster, S. 'From the Ground Up', New York University Press 2001

Blodgett, Abigail D. "An analysis of pollution and community advocacy in ‘cancer alley’: Setting an example for the environmental justice movement in St James Parish, Louisiana." Local Environment 11.6 (2006): 647-661.

March against the plant Source: Shintech in 1996 proposed a PVC plant in Convent, La. Community backlash, however, prompted the company to pull the plug on the project three years later. Photo: CorpWatch, San Francisco

http://www.siteselection.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf050131.htm[click to view]

Other Comments

This is one of the top 40 influential environmental justice cases in the United States identified from a national survey of environmental activists, scholars and other leaders by graduate students at the University of Michigan

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Contributor

Alejandro Colsa Pérez, [email protected], University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment